A crackle from the dying fire stirs Rachel slightly, and another forces her to bring the blanket up over her head, desperate to keep the cold and the noises away from her tranquility. The solution to the chill accompanying the fading light is simple even to her subconscious: when dating a man large enough to produce heat capable of melting three igloos, mooch. So she mooches and cuddles further into Finn. Except that Finn is softer than she remembers and doesn't cuddle back and smells oddly like Lavender.
Confused and annoyed at the lack of cooperation on his part, she sleepily raises a hand to feel out her non-responsive and fragrant companion, but that sleepily-raised hand only gets a handful of 500-thread linen and plush goose down.
She sits up frantically, jolted out of her sleep by the discovery of Finn's absence. He's nowhere in sight, which, to be fair, doesn't go too far in the dark, but she knows he's not there, and the worst thoughts of abandonment and dissatisfaction immediately fill her lethargic mind.
I had such a wonderful time last night, but he obviously wasn't impressed by my performance.. he realized he doesn't love me as much as he thought he did.. he couldn't bear to lie next to someone who would consider giving up something so special to better her performance.. I kick in my sleep.. I kicked him in the genitals in my sleep! Oh, God, I kicked him in the genitals in my sleep!
Wide-eyed, she scurries to her feet, managing to get tangled in the sheets only once, and rushes to the stairs, managing to bump into only the couch and that one (gaudy) corner table that she knows Kurt picked out. Halfway through her ascent, though, she hears the shower running and.. isn't it still the middle of the night?
Walking quietly into his room, she puts an ear to the bathroom door and hears him whistling softly to himself. Careful listening concludes that it's an honest but bad attempt at The Phantom of the Opera's "Think of Me." A small smile graces her face, both at the song choice and at the fact that he neither hates her nor is he suffering from a blow to his nether regions. She makes her way to his bed, not being nearly as quiet this time, and throws herself onto it face-down, regretting it one uncomfortable head bounce later.
She rolls onto her back, giving her neck a few apologetic rubs, and tries to fall asleep, assuming Finn will just come out of the shower and join her. Her mind, however, has other plans, and the moment her eyes shut, she sees a slick and steamy Finn Hudson. Her eyebrows shoot up and her eyes shoot open and her breath seems to get lodged in her throat as she shakes her head a couple times, clearing it and berating herself for the mental image. Surely,losing your virginity does not turn you into a frenzied harlot.. purely a one-time incident.
Nodding to herself, she closes her eyes once more, willing the land of.. wherever it is the sheep go when they jump the fence.. to take her, too. It's not sheep or a peaceful pasture, though, that she sees. She sees only Finn.. hot, wet, naked Finn. Hot, wet, naked Finn running a hand through his hair, water falling down his face, to his collarbones, to his strong chest. She swallows. The droplets continue down his abdomen and she wants to reach out and touch him, touch his perfect body that is perfect to her, kiss the parts he's so insecure about, that are so, so perfect to her.. and they continue farther and farther, dripping down and stick to all the right places, and her body becomes tense and restless, her arms and legs rigid as she arches into her longing.
Her moan doesn't snap her out of it, but the realization that her hand has somehow crawled its way under her nightdress elicits the proper alarms, and she sits up, out of breath and completely and utterly frustrated. She momentarily wonders if it's bad to think about someone this way, especially when they're one room over, but she leaves her brain little time to analyze that when she bounds off the bed and, with one minor detour to the top drawer of his nightstand, practically sprints to the bathroom door. She hesitates, but her complete and utter frustration ensures her hesitation is kept to a minimum, and before she can bother to think twice, her hand turns the knob. Entering the room feels like entering a sauna, and as she debates her next move, she carefully makes her way over to the curtain. Of course, though, it is just like her to be a vision of grace and poise at all times but this, and she meets her match as she grabs onto the wooden toiletry rack and falls onto the hard tile right next to the puddle of condensation that was her undoing.
There's a yell and a bang from the wet(ter) side of the curtain, and when Finn pops his head out, with his eyes equally popped-out, she can do nothing but offer a small smile and a shrug as she stands up and dusts herself off.
"Rachel? What hap-.. are you-.. why-.. what are you doing?"
She goes for broke, reeling in all her dignity and attempting to emit what she thinks could pass for sexiness.
"I.. just thought you looked a little lonely in there all by yourself."
If she wasn't trying to seduce him, she'd laugh at the comical way Finn's eyebrows right off his face.
"You- you- I- no, I'm not lonely! .. But, no, wait that doesn't mean I wouldn't like the company! .. But don't do anything you don't want to do! .. Except it was your idea so I guess you want to and oh man this is totally one of my fantasies, babe, you'd look so hot up against the wall.. forwards or backwards, totally your choice, doesn't matter to me–"
An unintentional snort leaves Rachel and stops Finn in the middle of his nervous ramble. His mouth opens and closes as he tries to say something, and what seems like minutes later, they're both still staring at each other, Finn still mute. Finally, he blinks, closes his mouth, and just tucks his head back behind the curtain, retreating to his sanctuary free of embarrassment and snorting girlfriends.
She doesn't even bother suppressing the howl that comes out of her, and as she rest against the counter, body shaking with laughs, she hears Finn's playfully emotionless voice.
"Yeah. Okay. So when you're finished laughing and ready to leave your moron of a boyfriend, could you at least just leave my heart next to the sink? I'll grab it on the way out."
With a giggle, she shakes her head at his theatrics, not able to believe how much she can adore one person, and rips her lacy slip over her head.
"You can run, Hudson, but you can't hide.."
Pulling back the curtain enough to step into the shower right in his view, Rachel nudges him backwards, and his shocked-out-of-his-wits body complies, allowing her more room right under the warm stream of water.
Her confidence grows under his gaze, and she makes a big show out of wetting her hair, throwing her head back seductively, and letting the water drip all over her body, arching and stretching and turning in whichever ways would give Finn the best view. When he lets out a low groan, she smirks and purposefully looks him up and down, making an effort not to gasp at the evident arousal that only arouses her infinitely more.
A chill runs through her as the water temperature drops slightly, and as she turns to adjust the heat, she feels him reach out to stroke her lower back. Straightening slowly, she takes his hand and brings it around to her abdomen, forcing him closer. His other hand also comes to rest there, and as she leans back into his chest, she can feel him pressing firmly against her. She turns in his arms and brings a hand to his face, stroking his cheek and staring into his eyes. He breaks the trance when he bends down frantically and kisses her hard.
Her lips part, granting his the freedom to do whatever they please, and she lifts her calf up to his hip. He hoists her up and, her legs around his waist, rests her back against the wall. Her kisses leave his mouth and trail down his jaw, taking up residence on his neck. His head falls backwards and he moans, burying his hand into her hair. It slides over her shoulder and down her side, massaging her hip as she finishes up on what will, undoubtedly, leave a large mark tomorrow. When their lips meet again, and she moans into his, a panicked thought enters his mind.
"Rach, wait."
"Mmmm," she replies, placing wet kisses on his chest.
"I don't.. have.. anything. On me."
She stops and looks up at him.
"Um.. protection, babe. I don't.. have any. On me."
She stares at him before smiling and giving his shoulder a shake.
"I didn't really expect you to, Finn. You're.. nude. Where would you have kept it?"
He blushes and throws her a half-smile, and she can't help but run a finger over the dimple that shows up. He kisses her once more and takes a deep breath, looking ready to rein it all in due to the apparent wait they'll have to incur, when she nips on his earlobe and tells him there's a condom sitting on the closed toilet lid.
"I love you," he says, grinning into her lips.
He sets her down gently before reaching a hand from behind the curtain, momentarily fumbling around, and returning valiantly with the condom. Careful to steer clear of the water as much as possible, he quickly rolls it onto himself, and no sooner has he tossed the empty wrapper over the curtain rod than Rachel attaches herself to his mouth, probing it with her tongue, grazing his lips gently with her teeth.
She moves away from him, faces a wall with legs wide apart, and when she sticks out her butt, any of Finn's remaining northerly blood supply rapidly rushes downwards. He grazes her hips with his fingertips before holding on more tightly and pressing himself against her. She whimpers softly and presses back, encouraging him. With a deep breath, he places himself against her and, after a nod from Rachel, slowly pushes his hips forward. They both let out a moan, and he takes hers as a sign to continue.
Slowly at first, they rock against each other. He runs his hand from hers on the wall down to her breasts, squeezing gently, and harder when she groans in response. He presses soft kisses onto her back, harder when his gentle touch elicits a purr. She grabs his hand in hers, holding it as she braces herself against the wall, and runs her thumb over his knuckles. She turns her head to look at him over her shoulder, and he leans forward for a kiss. She swipes her tongue around and he pulls away, resting his head against the back of her neck. His thrusts pick up speed, and his hand leaves hers to go back to her hip, and Rachel knows he's not going to last much longer. She thrusts back as hard as she can, in time with his movements, and he holds on to her tighter, and suddenly, he's moaning her name, and his movements are jerky, and he's still saying her name after he's stopped moving. She can feel him getting heavier and heavier against her back, so she straightens up, and he straightens up, and after seeking support against the wall while disposing of the condom, he pulls her lips up to his and pulls her face against his chest. Still breathing heavy, he murmurs into her hair, his arms holding her tight as she rubs circles on his back.
Slowly, silently, they clean up in the lukewarm water, and when Rachel's teeth start chattering, Finn turns off the shower and exists first, bringing a large towel back and wrapping it around her. She sits on his bed and wordlessly watches as he dries off, giving him a sheepish smile when he pulls a piece of her hair off his arm. She joins him at his dresser and takes a pair of his sweatpants for herself, slipping them on underneath a matching t-shirt. He grins at the sight, the clothes drowning her small body, and kisses her cheek before getting dressed himself.
Rachel falls onto the bed first, pulling the covers up all around her, and sinking into the pillows. She gazes at Finn as he turns off the lights, and stifles a laugh when he trips on the towel he left on the floor. When he climbs into the bed next to her, she pulls him down for a kiss and, in a finally successful attempt at mooching off his body heat, cuddles further into him. His arm instinctively wraps around her and she lays her head on his chest. Her still-damp hair tickles him and he pushes it off of her face, pressing a kiss to her forehead, repeating it when one isn't enough.
"I love you, Rach. You.. you mean so much to me."
She looks up at him, surprised by the broken silence, and feels her eyes welling up at the love in his.
He only smiles and pulls her closer, resting his chin on top of her head.
"You know, you never did tell me why you came into the bathroom."
She smiles now, batting away a stray tear and looking at him with playful indulgence.
"I told you, I didn't want you to feel lonely!"
"Mm. Is that right? Well, you know, I pretty much feel lonely every time I take a shower, so.. we could just set up a schedule and you could come over every day. I bet no one would mind that we're saving water and doing our part for the environment, huh? Burt could add it to his campaign." He winks at her and lightly tickles her side.
"Finn," she giggles, "the water was cold by the time we were done. I think we used enough for 5 showers which is hardly benefiting anyone.
"Not to mention, half of it must have ended up on the bathroom floor or something," she adds wryly.
His eyes light up as he remembers and a look of concern quickly takes over.
"Oh, yeah, Rach, what happened? Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Did you bruise anything? Did you break anything? Oh, God, you're okay, right?" he asks as he runs his hands over her arms, looking down at her body as if he can see any injuries through those massive clothes and in the dark.
She rolls her eyes and places a kiss on his nose. "I slipped. And.. I'm fine, Finn. I mean, you saw for yourself earlier.."
A smirk replaces his concern and she quirks an eyebrow when he squeezes her butt.
"Oh, I saw, all right. You are fine, babe. Fi-i-ine."
She rolls her eyes again. Typical.
"But what about you, Mr. Hudson? Why were you showering at- so early in the morning? Or, so late at night, really."
He turns shy and looks away, glancing back at her only when she nudges him. He's silent for a moment, then indulges her curious eyes.
"I was sweating so bad from the fireplace and the se- love making, and I was worried that I smelled and- and that you'd think it's gross, plus I probably had morning breath, so.." he looks away, embarrassed. "I was gonna shower and brush my teeth and just sneak back down, but, well.. yeah."
She sticks out her bottom lip and puts a hand to his cheek, running a thumb over the freckles she can't see but whose exact locations she knows.
"You could not be more adorable. That is so kind and thoughtful of you, Finn, but I can assure you that you didn't smell, and even if you did, it would not have bothered me. Getting to wake up next to you would negate any foul odors."
"Foul odors?" He crinkles his nose. "Thanks, babe."
She just shrugs and smiles. "Just clarifying. And I'm sorry I ruined your top-secret plan.. I'll stay put next time."
"Yeah, wait, why didn't you just go back to sleep?"
"I was scared I kicked you in the genitals."
"Oh, well I- wait, what? Why would..?"
Rachel shrugs again. "I don't know. I woke up and you were gone. My mind exploded with possibilities."
He shudders. "Well, for future reference, I'll let you know if you're ever hurting my junk. As long as you promise never to, like.. hurt it on purpose. Even when you're mad at me. Promise."
She blinks at him and his demand a couple times before giggling, earning a chuckle from Finn as well.
With a kiss, she rolls over onto her other side, Finn's arm around her torso, his large body wrapped around her smaller one, and she nestles into the arm he has resting under her head. "Goodnight, Finn."
He smiles into her hair and murmurs, "Sweet dreams, babe."
She drifts off almost instantly, comforted by her surroundings and her thoughts on the clear advantages Finn-cuddling has over lavender-scented, down pillow-cuddling. She doesn't feel him sit up and doesn't see the erratic look in his eyes as he checks whether or not she's still awake.
"Rach?" he whispers. "Rachel? You never actually promised."